Toy.



T. HOWARD & W. H. WILLIAMS.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY13. 1918. 7 1,295,504, Patented Feb.25,1919.

9 C 2 5 5/ )9 F15 :J

THOMAS HOWARD rr sans ATENT. FFICE.

AND WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, OF OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY; SAID WILLIAMS ASSIGNOR OF HIS RIGHT TO MARGARET E. WILLIAMS, OF CINCINNATI,

OHIO.

'roY.

' Application filed May 13, 1918. Serial No. 234,238.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS HOWARD and WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, citizens of the United States, residing at Owensboro, in the county of Daviess and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to games and toys and is designed more especially as an improvement over the construction shown in the patent issued to Thomas Howard, October 24, 1916, and numbered 1,202,721.

The chief feature of improvement resides in the provision of a novel form of base for the device adapted to render the device more compact and render the toy more interesting and amusing.

The invention also has as its object the provision of a novel and improved form of detent for restraining the balls or marbles and for releasing the same in the working of the toy.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical front to rear sectional view through the toy embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the device;

Fi 5 is a perspective view of the dete'nt mem er.

The toy embodying the present inventlon is of that type in which anumber of runways are arranged one above another, and balls or marbles are permitted to'roll successively along the runways and to be finally discharged on to a surface from which they may roll into any one of several pockets, which pockets are preferably designated by numerals indicatin their relative score values. The base 0 the device is indicated in general by the numeral 1 and the said base comprises a bottom section 2, preferably in the nature of a board having its upper the numeral 3, inclined downwardly from the rear end ofthe base toward the forward end thereof. The base further includes a board 4 which is suitably spaced above the surface 3 of the board 2, and the said board 4 extends from the rear end of the base as a whole in a substantially horizontal plane, but terminates short of the forward end of the said base. Sideboards 5 are secured to the lateral edges of the Fig. 3 of the'drawings.

boards 2 and 4 and serve to maintain these boards in their spaced relation and to support the said board 4. An end board 6 is secured to the rear edges of the boards 2 and 4 for the same purpose and serves also as a means for closing the rear end of the space 7 which is provided between the said boards 2 and 4. A suitable strip 8 is secured to the forward edge of the board 2 and projects above the surface 3 of the said board a short distance as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings so as to serve as a stop for the balls or marbles rolling down the inclined surface 3. Thesaid surface 3 of the board 2 is formed at the forward end of the said board, with a number of pockets 9 into any of which the ball or balls may lodge before or after striking the strip 8. These pockets may, of course,be designated by numerals indicatin their respective score values so v that the evice may be employed in the playing of a game as well as serving as a toy. In order that the balls or 'marb es may be dropped on to the inclined surface 3, in a manner to be presently explained, the board 4 is formed with an opening-10, and this opening at one side is enlarged as indicated by 'the numeral 11, also for a purpose to be presently explained, the enlargement being in the direction of the forward end of the ase.

The numeral 12 indicates a pair of spaced uprights located at the'forward end of the board 4, and the'numeral 13 indicates another pair of uprights upstanding from the board 4 near the rear end thereof. The uprights 13 are slightly shorter than. the uprights 12, and a runway 14 is secured between the upper ends of: the uprights'and is inclined downwardly and rearwardly as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings. This runway comprises, as is usual in toys of this type, a body formed with a longitudinally extending groove or channel 15 along which the balls or marblesvare designed to travel, and in order to suitably retard the travel of the balls or marbles, the said channel or groove 15 has its side walls formed with shoulders 16 and inclined faces 17, the shoulders of each wall being located opposite the inclined faces of the other wall of the groove or channel, as clearly shownin Of course, the ball or marble rolling down the runway 14 will strike the shoulders 16 and be given a zigzag 1-10 60 1 '29 so as-toengage the'opposite sides of the displacement 1 -of the pivot for the detent. The upper end of the detent member comprises a head 30 the edge of which is substantially concentric course before being discharged onto another runway which will be presently described. These-id other runway is indicated by the inn-neral 1S and is secured in any suitable manner between the uprights 12 and 13 and is inclined downwardly and forwardly as shown in F 1 and *1. The rear end of the runway 18 extends a suitable distance beyond the rear end of the runway 14 sothat the ball or marble rolling from the end of the runway it, will drop into the groove or channel 19 in the runway 18. The third runway is indicated by the numeral 20 and the same is pivotally mounted as at 21 between the uprights 12. The pivot 21 is not located mid-way between the ends of the runway 20 but nearer the forward end thereof and a block or other suitable weight device 22 is secured to the under side of the runway 20 at the forward side of the pivot 21 so that the normal tendency is for this end of the runway to tilt in a downward direction. However, such movement is resisted through the provision of a stop device 23 comprising a cross-piece extending between the uprights '13 and engaged by the rear end of the runway '20. In order toclose the forward end of the channel or groove of the riiinway 20, a suitable cross-piece 24 is secured to the 'saidend of the runway in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. By refercnce to Fig. lit will be observed that when the'rn-11way 20 is tilted by swinging down its rear end to the dotted line position shown.

"the-said rear end of'the runway will extend immediately above the enlarged portion 11 of the opening 10. Thus even if the parts of the deviceshould be weakened throughout orif, for any reason, the said end of the runway 20 will not accurately register with the wall of the opening 10, the enlargement 1 1 will be in the path'of movement of the ball or marble as it leaves the rearend of the runway 20 and will guide the same into the said opening 10, through which opening it is adapted to fall upon the surface 3 of the board 2.

As before stated, 'a detent 'device is provided for restraining the balls or marbles from rolling down theirunway 1% except under certain conditions, and this detent de vice comprises a fi-atsided body 25 which is pivot-ally mounted at its upper end within a slot 26 formed in the bottom of the run wayla, bypassing a small rod or wire 27 through the runway and across the said slot 26 and through an opening 28 formed in the saidupperend of the detent member 25, the ends of the said wire or rod being bent atflright angles as indicated by the numeral member 11 and thus prevent to the pivot opening 28 except that the said edge of the head 30 is recessed or cut-away at its side which is presented forwardly and upwardly, as indicated by the numeral 31, so as to form a seat for the foremost ball or marble placed within the groove or channel of the member 14 at the upper end thereof. The lower end of the body 25 of the detent member iscut at an angle, as indicated by the numeral 32, which angle corresponds substantially to the angle of inclination of the runway 18, in the normal position of the detent member 25. Thus when the detent member is in its normal position as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, its angularly cut lower end 32 will occupy a position within the lower end of the channel or groove in the runway 18 and, consequently, in the path of balls or marbles rolling down the said runway.

In the use of the toy either as such or as a game, a number of balls or marbles indicated by the numeral 33, are disposed within the upper end of the groove or channel in the runway 14, the foremost ball or marble resting in the seat 31 in the head of the detent member. The detent member is then manually swung to approximately the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings in order to permit one of the marbles to roll down the runway 14 and on to the runway 18. As the marble rolls down the runway 18, in the groove 19 thereof, it will first strike the detent member 25 and swing this member to substantially the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and will finally be discharged on to the runway 20 at the forward portion thereof and will roll forwardly along said runway and will finally lodge in a seat 341 formed in the forwardiend of the groove or channel of the said runway 20. In the meantime, however,

the swinging :movement of the detent member 25 has resulted'in another marble or ball being released fortravel down the runway 14- and this marble will, as in the instance of the one-first described, be discharged from the runway 18 on to the forward portion of the runway 20, but the seat 34 being already occupied by the first mentioned marble, the second mentioned marble will roll down the runway 20 and at a point in such movement will overbalance the said runway '20 and the first mentioned marble causing the said runway to'be swung to about the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 of theidrawings in which. position the first mentioned marble will be returned to the upper portioniof the runway 14; and the second mentioned marble will be discharged from the runway 20 and through the opening 10' on to the inclined surface 3. .1 l g Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a device of the class described, a

base having a compartment and provided in its top with an opening communicating with the compartment, the opening being enlarged in one direction, the bottom wall of the compartment having a plurality of pockets formed therein and being inclined downwardly in the direction of said pockets, and a runway. pivotally mounted above the base and arranged in a tilted position to have its discharge end located above. the enlarged side of the opening.

2. In a device of the class described, a

. runway having a longitudinally extending channel and formed with a slot, and a detent member having a head disposed rotatpivoted within ably within the slot, the head having an approximately oircular periphery and being the slot axially of its periphery, the body of the detent member depending beneath the runway, and the said periphery of the head being formed with a recess presented in the general direction of the upper end of the runway and constituting a seat for a ball element disposed for travel in the said runway.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures. I

THOMAS HOWARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

